Former India captain and current India A coach Rahul Dravid believes that the upcoming A team tour to New Zealand will help some of the senior players prepare for the tough Australia tour, which is around the corner. Murali Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are some of the Team India players that will feature in the India A tour of New Zealand, starting on November 16.
“It is really nice to be able to hold such tours just before the Indian team visits these countries. We are trying to have shadow tours. We did it in England and we could obviously not do it in Australia, but it is great to go to New Zealand instead,” Dravid told bcci.tv in an interview.
“I think it will be a very good opportunity for some of the boys who are requested by the senior team management to be a part of the A tour. They will be able to gain some match-time experience even if the conditions are not going to be exactly the same or it is not like being in Australia,” Dravid added, commenting on the Indian batsmen, who will later face Australia in three ODIs, four Tests and three T20Is in their backyard.
India A will play three ODIs and as many four-day Test matches on their challenging tour to New Zealand. The Test team will be led by India vice-captain Rahane in the first Test, while Karun Nair will captain the side in subsequent Test matches.
